Monday, January 31, 2011

Jan. 31st, 2011

Tomorrow will be a month that Eric has been in the hospital. Boy has he handled this all so well.

Sorry for the lack of updates but things have been about the same. He has lost about 70 pounds from getting rid of the fluid. One of the nurses told Eric that 110 pounds was the most anyone has lost with getting rid of fluids. Of course, the competitor in Eric came out, he is working for 111 pounds.

They are still not giving him a set date to come home, though it is something he is looking to be able to do in the near future.

Thanks for the prayers, visits and support.

Kimberly

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Jan. 27th, 2011

Just a quick update...

They are working to dry Eric up from the fluids. They feel it will be better to have those fluids gone before he gets to go home.

Also he walked 3 laps (not sure the distance) with out oxygen, the nurse check him out once he was done and his oxygen level was 96. A great sign that his breathing is getting better.

He is also eating a little bit more and getting a little more energy.

We are so very grateful for the prayers that have been answered thus far. He seems to be progressing and hopefully sometime in the near future will return home.

Kimberly

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Jan. 26th, 2011

Results came back from the biopsy as negative. That means the tissue sample they removed did not carry the virus. This is not to say that some other part of the heart may still have the virus, but this sample did not. The doctor said that it was a good sign, but that his heart is still not pumping the blood out to the body as well as it should be.

They are working to get his meds. working properly with his body. He is taking the medicine by mouth, so that when he is released from the hospital they know that his meds. are working properly. This takes some time with trial and error.

He has also been moved to another room (#3701). Still the same floor just a different change of scenery.

He has been going back and forth with his fluids, one day doing really well and the next it seems to come back this is part of that trial and error process. He continues to walk around the hospital each day and is still enjoying the showers. :)

Thanks for everything!

Kimberly

Monday, January 24, 2011

Jan. 24th, 2011

Once again thanks for the prayers and thoughts throughout the day. The biopsy went well. They will get the results back on Wednesday.

During the procedure they did run some numbers on the heart and the pressure from the fluid is still high, meaning he still has a lot of fluid to get rid of. The doctor also mentioned that he could have possibly had the virus for the last 6 months. Luckily his heart was able to withstand the stress for that long.

Eric handled the procedure pretty well, and was able to watch what they were doing on the monitor. He said he was numbed up pretty good.

Kimberly

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Jan. 23rd, 2011

This weekend has gone well for Eric. He has been up walking around and enjoying those who have visited.

Tomorrow Eric will have a biopsy done on his heart. They will remove some tissue and exam it. They are looking to see if the virus is still affecting the heart, if the heart has been damaged in any way due to the stress it has been under, etc. The doctors told my parents and Eric that this procedure would be able to tell them quite a bit.

With anything there are risks involved. Please keep him in your prayers and thougths tomorrow.


I will update tomorrow on how it went. Though the results will take a few days to come back.

Stay warm.

Kimberly

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Jan. 22nd, 2011

Today I wanted to post not about Eric, but about all of you. His readers, friends, and our family.

Around Dec. 27th, was the time that things became known that Eric had more than just a common sickness and that his body was really sick and needed special attention. From that day, until today, almost a whole month later each of you have spent time visiting, praying, fasting, reading, and helping out in lots of different ways.

Eric will continue to need lots of these things in the following months as his body continue to heal, especially your prayers. When we plead with our father in heaven for those in need he will bless us and them. These blessings come in his own way and his own time. This has been a lesson we have learned through Eric's afflictions that patience is to endure things and endure them well. We will be blessed through our patience and our faith.

These two videos from our church explain the importance of both prayer and patience. This is our big thank you to each of you for your support thus far. We have been blessed over and over again through each of you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Videos:

Prayer

Patience

P.S. Eric is doing well today, he has been up walking around again. :)

Until tomorrow.

Kimberly

Friday, January 21, 2011

Jan. 21st, 2011

Rub a dub dub Eric doesn't have to have a sponge bath anymore.

So after 20 days of sponge baths and all privacy out the door, Eric was allowed to take a shower. He no longer has any tubes hooked to him (other than the PICC line: for blood, giving meds, etc.) which made it possible for him to shower. I know he feels so good.

This update may not be a big splash, but it's the life of Eric for now.

Please continue to keep him and our parents in your prayers!

Have a great weekend.

Kimberly

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Jan. 20th, 2011

No one ever wants to hear that they are being down graded, unless of course it means moving from an ICU room to a regular room on the heart floor.

Eric has a new room down the hall, new room #3718. It is the same building and same floor, just not in ICU. Hooray!!

He has been up walking around today and scared everyone cause he almost fell. One of his legs from the knee down went numb, they thought it was because he had not moved for such a long time. Just to be on the safe side they brought him back to the room, worked with him on some different stretches and coordination skills. Some of the stretches one side was doing well the other was not working right. So they took him down to do a CAT scan just make sure the brain was in good shape. The test came back good, so they believe it all comes down to not moving around lately.

Photos from my visit:



Swans-ganz catheter



We pray that his progress will continue and that he will be able to return back home soon. He still has lots of recovering to do but being home would be nice for everyone. No mention of doing that yet, but we will take a down grade in rooms for now.

Thanks for all the prayers! We see and feel the affects each and every day!!

All our love and thanks!

Kimberly

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Jan. 19th, 2011

Our "gentle giant" is on the loose again. He has been up walking today. They left some of the catheter in his neck so that they don't have to poke him again, but the (I will call them wires since I am not really sure) wires have been removed so that he can get up and walk. So basically he is not hooked to a machine and is mobile.

So out of 19 days in a chair or bed he has been able to walk around twice. The things we take for granted each day! Walking should help the ole tushy out and hopefully help get that fluid moving out as well.

That's all folks.

Have a great night!

Thanks for keeping tabs on Eric and rooting for him along the way.

Kimberly

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Jan. 18th, 2011

The update today is coming straight from Eric's room. I came up for a few hours to visit and decided to get Eric's input on his update for today.

First he wanted me to let everyone know that his bum is sore, his new best friend is the TV remote, hospital beds are not made for six -four human beings, and pain meds/ambien are a great source of nutrients. :)

The doctors have told him that he just needs to continue to release fluids, and that they are just going to watch him for the rest of the week. His numbers are looking good and they are just going to see how his body will handle things for a little while.


At this time Eric is taking up offers on leg massages and scratching. His personal assistant (his mother) has been placed on this job assignment and would love the help of those with long fingernails.

Other than that Eric has been in good spirits while I have been here and I saw that good ole for- real smile and got him to laugh a few good times. Humor is always good for the soul.

He thanks everyone for their time, support, comments, and prayers. He says that each of you are a big help in coping with the situation.

All of our love and thanks!

Kimberly & Eric

Monday, January 17, 2011

Jan. 17th, 2011

This update will be short and sweet.

Eric seemed to be doing well today. He was able to get rid of about 6 liters of fluid today. Yep, that's "3" two liter bottles of urine. Pretty amazing that he has any fluid left. But they are cutting back on the meds. since they don't want him to continue to loose that much fluid so quickly.

His bum is a bit sore, Eric claims it was from the uncomfortable ambulance ride from Greenville to Chapel Hill. I would also add that sitting for 17 days straight in a hospital could make ones tushy a little on the sore side as well.

That's all the juicy details that I know right now.

All the best.

Kimberly

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Jan. 16th, 2011

I must first apologize to all UNC fans. When I posted a couple of days ago I mentioned "Rory Williams" whom I thought was the UNC-Chapel Hill basket ball coach. I was informed by my second proof-reader (one who obviously knows more about sports, more than my first proof-reader or I do) that he was "Roy" not "Rory".

Now on to the topic at hand.

Eric has seemed to have a good day. He had a few visitors, was told he could eat sweet tarts, star-bursts, and chew on gum. His liquids have been put back on restriction due to the fluid that has built up again, but the meds. seemed to help release a good amount of fluid today.

The doctors are pleased with the numbers they are getting from his catheter and arterial line, and he has been put on a 24- 48 hour watch to kind of see what the next step should be. When I hear he has been put on a watch I kind of laugh because he is being watched like a hawk 24/7 anyway. But I guess they take those readings from a period of time to see how his body is reacting to meds. Again, more wait and see what will happen next.

When he was admitted to UNC they wanted to reinsert the swans-ganz catheter in the same area that he had the previous one on the right side of the neck, but were unable to do so. They ran a Doppler over the area today and found the weather to be a bit foggy :). It also showed a blood clot, which they have upped his blood thinning meds. to help clear this up and will keep an eye on it.

The nurses have taken right to Eric's charm, and he was even adopted by one of them today. They have told my parents that Eric's main physician is great, and he is consulting with the top doctor that they have on staff to treat Eric. We are truly grateful for those prayers to have been answered to receive the best care possible. The team of doctors are concerned for Eric's health and have assured him that they are doing all they can to get his heart back to normal. If they see that his heart can't do this alone they have devices to help take care of the heart if it comes to that. This is one of the main reasons the doctor from Pitt wanted him to be at UNC.

I have made a bit of a change to the blog in the comment section, if you are not a member and did not want to sign up to be a member you can now leave comments and you will be listed as anonymous so be sure to leave your name or family's name at the bottom of your comment.

Thanks again for everything!

Kimberly

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Jan. 15th, 2011

It's Thursday night and your favorite t.v. show comes on, you settle down on the couch anxiously waiting to see what is going to happen next, only to find that it's a re-run of last weeks episode.

That's kind of how Eric's day has gone. He is reliving last week over again. The doctors at UNC have put in another swans-ganz catheter (on the opposite side of his neck), they have an arterial line in his arm, and they have put him back on some meds to help get his blood pressure back up. He had an x-ray done and it showed fluid back on the left side of his lungs, and he has lots of pressure on his heart from the fluid. The doctors have said their main concern right now is to get some of the fluid off of his body.

We are so grateful to have so many friends and family members wanting to help out. I have asked my parents if there is anything that we can do for them or Eric at this time. Their response is to continue to pray for Eric and his health, and to help someone else in need since they are so far from home base now.

They (my parents) are working together to have at least one person at the hospital to be with Eric. The room is a bit smaller with only one pull out bed and no shower. They found out about the SECU Family House about 5 minutes away, and have a room there. So they have a nice room, shower, laundry room and are close by the hospital. As for visitors right now we are not sure on the policy. It seems to be more on lock down than at the Heart Centers ICU where we could freely go in and out of Eric's room.

People have asked about sending Eric cards or letters by mail. If you would like to send him something you can mail it to my parents address and we will see that it gets to Eric.

I know I say thank you a lot for everything, but we are truly grateful.

Until tomorrow.

Kimberly

Friday, January 14, 2011

Jan. 14, 2011

Well folks the news has just been released... Rory Williams from UNC Chapel Hill has requested to recruit Eric. :)

Okay, maybe Rory Williams had nothing to do with it, but Eric will be leaving Pitt Memorial Hospital tonight Friday Jan. 14th, 2011 and will be transported to UNC. His cardiologist said that Eric was doing better and he did not want to make this decision and we think things are worse. So that is good news. He knows that they can assist Eric better for the condition that he is in now. He is stable and doing better than when he arrived here at the Heart Center. The doctor said he was doing this to take a pro-active approach to get Eric better. They have a great team of doctors there to help Eric and his condition.


Eric seemed to be a little upset at first about it, but the doctor came back around and reassured Eric he was doing this to get Eric well, not because things had gotten worse.

To Eric's doctors/ and nurses here at the Heart Center: We could not have asked for better care and support. His main doctor has been very upfront and concern for Eric and his well being. He stopped by to say goodbye and told Eric he wanted to see him when he got well, for him to just come by and say Hello!

We are so grateful for the insight of the dr. and his desire to help Eric get well.

Again we thank you all!

Please keep him in your prayers!

I guess for a little while we will support the light blue colors.

All our love!

Kimberly

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Jan 13, 2011

A few small steps for Eric, and a giant leap of recovery.

So I called to check in on the "gentle giant" as one nurse refers to him, and sure enough he had been out walking. Maybe I should say taking some steps. I am not sure the pace was anywhere near walking, but he was up and moving.

I then found out he was able to have a milkshake from outside of the hospital which I am sure he enjoyed, since his liquids had been restricted to small amounts of water or ice cubes since he was admitted into the ICU.

Again, we see the hand of our Heavenly Father in Eric's recovery. We pray that he will continue to press forward. We have had a few set backs after some really good days, but we have hope that with the progress he has been making over the last 36 hours that we will have only good news to post from here on out.

Again, thanks for the comments, visits, support, and love.

Kimberly

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Jan. 12th, 2011

On the 12th day of hospital stay his doctor brings to him...

A sweet pair of stockings to wear.

I was unable to visit today, but I just spoke with Eric on the phone. He was back in the chair and again, pretty worn out. He told me he was wearing some stockings for the fluids in his legs and feet. They are hoping this will help alleviate some of the swelling.

Other than that the doctors seem to be pleased with his numbers for today and will monitor his fluids for about 24 hours to make sure his kidneys are working properly.

I am only able to assume what Eric's legs look like with the stockings on; but no visit means no real photo. Thanks to the internet I was able to find some photos to help out with a visual. You can use your best judgment on which ones you think closely resemble his. :)





Have a great night!!

Kimberly

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Jan. 11th, 2011 Evening Update and Pictures

So I went by to see Eric around 5:00 this evening and found him like this...


He said it took all the energy he had to slide from the bed to the chair. The doctor came around while I was there and said that they would put him back on the drip of fluid medicine over night to help relieve him of more fluids. Eric asked if he could get up and walk a little and the Dr. said not now. He explained to Eric that his heart was still very weak and needed lots of recovery. He said they are just watching all of his vitals right now and taking one day at a time. He does not want to do anything to make the heart work more than with him just resting.

This news was not Eric's favorite. I am sure he just wants to be up and moving around so bad. But he still has lots of recovery to go. Hang in there Eric!!

To all his fans, thanks for everything!!

All our love!

Kimberly

Jan. 11th, 2011

Come one, come all, just don't come all at one time.. :)

Eric would like some visitors. So if you are able and would like to come please feel free. I was able to get a report from my parents this morning that Eric is doing rather well today. The doctors are pleased and have even taken him off of the fluid medicine. He has "slid" from his bed to a chair and back. This has been a great relief from the two weeks of doing nothing!

We are so grateful for his progression in the last couple of days and know that this "faster than expected" recovery was due to all the blessings, prayers/fasting, and faith of our family and friends. The doctors are still moving forward slowly and will continue to watch Eric and his vital signs.

We have felt very blessed to have such good support and love through out the past month.

Stay warm!

Kimberly

Monday, January 10, 2011

Jan. 10th 2011

In the last post I mentioned it would be a couple of days and they would be removing the balloon pump. Well the doctors saw fit that the pump and the swan-ganz catheter were removed today. He is free from most of his wires and tubes. He now only has an IV in for the fluid medicine and the PICC line.

After they removed the machines today, he had to lie flat for about 6 hours. The doctors came around and said that his vital signs look good, and tomorrow he can move around a little. And by a little they mean from his bed to a chair and back to the bed. Eric will not be complaining about this since the last 10 days he has been stuck in the bed.

They are hoping for this movement to help with moving the fluid and getting rid of more.

Please continue to pray for his recovery.

And for some entertainment (especially for Eric) I have linked this video. Enjoy!

P.S. Eric, don't try any of these moves just yet.

All our thanks,

Kimberly

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Jan. 9th, 2011


5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said....

Eric is still progressing! The right side of his heart is showing some improvement, and they are working on his ejection fraction and trying to get that number higher. This is all part of the slow recovery process. We continue to take one day at a time.

They have talked about removing the balloon pump in the next few days, so maybe he will be able to stretch out his legs and sit up a little more in bed.

When I saw Eric today he told me he had been keeping up with the blog and enjoys reading the comments, he thanks you all!!

Thanks for the food, visits, prayers, and thoughts.
We are all truly grateful.

Kimberly

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Jan. 8th, 2011

The beginning of the week Eric had a swan-ganz catheter put in to monitor his stats directly from his heart. Today they went in and switched out some tubes and seem to be getting a better reading from doing this. Poor kid just keeps getting poked and prodded.

As the doctors made their rounds today they seemed to be pleased with Eric's numbers. When we refer to his numbers they are looking at his heart rate, Blood Pressure, in/out take of blood to his heart, oxygen etc. Over the next couple of days they will continue to watch these numbers and continue to have him on a slow drip of medicine that will lower his heart rate. Once it is where the doctors want it to be they will stop some of the machines to see how his heart works on its own. So again the process is a bit slow, but we seem to be moving forward instead of back. Slow and steady wins the race.

This may come as a shock to some but Eric has only been eating about two -three mouth fulls of food at each meal. But today he ate all of his chicken sandwich so he seems to be getting a bit of an appetite back. :)

We thank everyone for keeping up with the blog and for making comments. Eric seems to be in better spirits today than yesterday.

All our thanks and love to each of you.

Kimberly

Friday, January 7, 2011

Overview and Jan. 7th, 2011 Update

Overview:
Eric was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure due to a virus.
Eric's heart needs to relax and decrease in size. They are working in kind of a reverse order to get this to take place. Lowering his heart rate and BP so that the heart is not working as hard. Once this happens they will try and let the heart regain strength hoping that it will work properly after that.

Eric has received priesthood blessings from priesthood holders in our church and in each blessing he was given the assurance that with faith he would recover.

Jan. 7th, 2011
As with everything you have good days and bad days. Yesterday, was a good day and his stats were high and looked really good. The procedures that were done over the last couple of days seemed to be doing their job.

Today things seemed to fall a bit and his numbers were not as good, but the Doctor said that he did not fall back too much and that he is still looking good. The next 24 hours will be a time for Eric to be watched closely so that they can know what needs to happen next.

We are so very grateful for each of you and thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, love, and support. We have truly felt your prayers. We know that our Father in Heaven is mindful of Eric and his situation, we must show patience and faith during this affliction.

Please check back for daily updates and please leave comments, these comments will be read to Eric to help and lift his spirits.

Kimberly